Piston ring groove cleaner



May 12, 1970 s, Ys R 3,510,902

PISTON RING GROOVE CLEANER Filed Dec. 20, 1967 INVENTOR SMITH KYSER 43 K 44 BY 'W,M,CBWMCMM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 12, 1970 s. KYSER PISTON RING GROOVE CLEANER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 20, 1967 ==========ni==E INVENTOR SMITH KYSER ATTORNEYS.

W,W, BMM W cm May 12, 1970 Q s. KYSER 3,

PISTON RING GROOVE CLEANER Filed Dec. 20, 19s? 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 F/GZ/O 202 /2 ifs/228 236 2/2 245 244 220 202 5 /2 232 z 2/4/ \X F P 225 E I 7 k r 242 INVENTOR SMITH KYSEI? BY W,M,@WM com" ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,510,902 PISTON RING GROOVE CLEANER Smith Kyser, Lowell, Mich., assignor to Aircraft Specialties, Inc., Lapeer, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 692,052 Int. Cl. B60s /00 U.S. Cl. 15104.01 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A piston ring groove cleaner comprising an elongated bar having a first straight portion and a second straight portion which is bent back upon itself at one end of said bar to provide means for engaging a piston. A slidable member adapted to slide along the first straight portion of the bar is also provided. The slidable member has a spring urged pivotal locking member for engaging the first straight portion so that the slidable member may be slid towards one end of the bar, but is normally locked against being slid towards the other end of the bar. A cutting element holder arm is also provided which is pivotally mounted to the slidable bar and adapted to be spring urged towards the first end of the bar.

This invention relates generally to tools for cleaning piston ring grooves and more particularly to a piston ring groove cleaner of the type having an elongated bar handle which is bent back upon itself to receive pistons for cleaning of the grooves therein.

Piston ring groove cleaners of the elongated bar type are exemplified by the piston ring groove cleaner shown in Pat. No. 2,124,757. The advantages of these piston ring groove cleaners are that they are inexpensive to manufacture and adapt to a large variety of sizes of pistons.

This type of piston ring groove cleaners have various disadvantages among which are the following: (1) they are difficult to place on the piston; (2) they are difficult to adjust for the particular size of each groove; and, (3) they must be readjusted after each groove has been cleaned. Additionally, the bar type piston ring groove cleaners are very difiicult to place onto the piston in that adjustments are required at two different positions and holding the rod in place while making these adjustments is therefore very diflicult.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved piston ring groove cleaner which is easy to place on and remove from a piston.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved piston ring groove cleaner which is inexpensive to manufacture, but which is simple to use and to adjust.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved piston ring groove cleaner which need not be readjusted between piston ring grooves of the same or like pistons.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved piston ring groove cleaner which is provided with an offset depth guide so that a large range of piston sizes may be used with the piston ring groove cleaner.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved by providing a piston ring groove cleaner comprising an elongated bar having a first straight portion and a second straight portion bent back upon itsself at one end to provide means for engaging a piston, a slidable member adapted to slide along said first straight portion of said bar, said slidable member having a spring urged pivotal locking member for engaging said first straight portion so that said slidable member may be slid towards said one end of said bar but is normally locked against being slid towards the other end of said bar and a cutting element holder arm, said arm being pivotally mounted to said slidable member and spring urged towards said first end of said bar.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the piston ring groove cleaner in operation with a piston which is shown in phantom;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cutting element per se;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 55 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 66 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view taken along the line 77 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the insert used in forming the cutting element holder arm;

FIG. 9 is a perspective View of the pawl which is used to lock the slidable member of the piston ring groove cleaner;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the invention having a cutting element holder arm for housing individual cutting elements;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 11-11 in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line 1212 in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the spring locking means per se used to lock the cutting element in place.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, a piston ring groove cleaner embodying the invention is shown generally at 20 in FIG. 1.

The piston ring groove cleaner 20 basically comprises an elongated bar 22 which is flat and of generally rectangular cross section which is bent back at a first end and is thereby adapted to engage the ring grooves of a piston at two points, a slidable member 24 and a cutter element holder arm 26 which is spring urged and thereby adapted to urge the cutter element into the grooves of a piston for cleaning thereof.

The elongated bar 22 is comprised of a first straight portion 28, an arcuate portion 30 at which the bar is bent back upon itself and a second straight portion 32. As best seen in FIG. 2, the first straight portion 28 of bar 22 includes a plurality of teeth 34 which are provided along the centralmost portion of the inner edge of the portion 28 thereof. A flattened inwardly projecting ledge 36 is provided on the inner edge of portion 28 from the forwardmost end of teeth 34 which extends to the arcuate portion 30 on the inner edge of portion 28 of the bar. A similar flattened elongated ledge 38 is provided on the inner edge portion 32 of bar 22. The ledges 36 and 38 as will be seen hereinafter may be aligned with the groove of a piston whichis being cleaned.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, a depth guide 40 is provided adjacent the rear of ledge 36 on portion 28 of bar 22 and extends substantially parallel thereto. A depth guide 42 is also provided on portion 32 of the bar adjacent the rear of ledge 38. The guide 40 prevents the ledge 36 from engaging the innermost surface of the piston groove. As best seen in FIG. 7, the depth guide 40 is preferably secured to portion 28 of bar 22 by a pair of rivets 44. The depth guide 40 is of basically L-shaped cross section and is elongated and includes an offset portion 46. Portion 46 is offset from the major portion of the depth guide and thus spaced from the top surface of bar 22 so that the slidable member 24 may be partially slid between portion 46 in the slot 48 which is formed between portion 46 of depth guide 40 and the top surface of the straight portion 28 of bar 22. Depth guide 42 is also of L-shaped cross section but is substantially straight and is mounted to straight portion 32 of bar 22 preferably by a pair of rivets 50 adjacent the ledge 38. As hereinbefore noted, the vertical legs of the guides 40 and 42 which extend normally to the surface of bar 22 engage the outer surface of the piston to prevent too deep an insertion of the ledges 36 and 38 in the grooves of the piston when the device is in operation.

As best seen in FIG. 3, slidable member 24 includes a first hollow portion 52 which is of generally rectangular cross section and is adapted to telescope over and slide along straight portion 28 of the bar 22. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 6, the slidable member 24 further includes another hollow portion 54 which is integral with said first portion and is adapted to house a pivotal locking finger 56. Pin 58 extends through the top and bottom of hollow portion 54 and is secured in place by a pair of enlarged heads 60 which are provided at both ends of said pin. The locking finger 56 which is best seen in FIG. 9, is pivotably mounted about pin 56 and basically comprises a rectangular U-shaped portion 62 and a lever arm 64 which is integral therewith. The rectangular U-shaped portion 62 includes a pair of side walls which each have an opening 66 provided therein which are aligned with respect to each other and are adapted to receive pin 58.

The locking finger 56 is enabled to move within the second hollow portion 54 and the first hollow portion 52 by the provision of openings 67 (FIGS. 1 and 6) which are provided in the upper and lower surfaces of the slidable member 24. As best seen in FIG. 2, also provided about pin 58 is a spring 68, the ends of which are urged away from each other. Spring 68 includes a first arm 70 and a second arm 72. Arm 70 is urged against the inner surface of hollow portion 54 and arm 72 is urged against the inner surface of lever arm 64 of locking finger 56 which thereby urges end wall 76 of rectangular portion 62 of the locking finger into engagement with teeth 34 of elongated bar 22. By manually pressing lever arm 64 in the direction of arrow 78 in FIG. 2, the locking finger 58 will be disengaged from teeth 34 and the slidable member 24 may be slid away from the arcuate portion of the bar 22. The teeth 34 are so sloped that the slidable member 24 may be slid along bar 22 towards arcuate portion 30 of the bar even through the locking finger 56 is urged against the teeth; however, the teeth abut the locking finger 56 to prevent the slidable member from being slid away from portion 30 when finger 56 is urged against teeth 34.

The lever arm 64 of the locking finger extends through opening 80 which is provided in the hollow portion 54 so that it is exposed for manual depressing. Also secured to the hollow portion 54 is a rotatably mounted cutting element holder arm 26. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cutting element holder arm is formed of a pair of complementary halves 82 and 84 which are secured together by an insert 86 (FIG. 8). The halves 82 and 85 'are primarily planar and include peripheral skirts which in combination with the insert 86 space the planar portions from each other.

The insert 86 includes a V-shaped portion 88 and a U-shaped portion 90 which are integral with each other. The V-shaped portion 88 has secured to a leg thereof, a resilient spring 92 which is rectangular and planar and which is secured thereto by a rivet 94. The U-shaped portion has an opening 96 in the endmost leg thereof which, as will hereinafter be seen, secures an end of the cutting element holder arm spring. Secured to the uppermost and lowermost edges of the insert 86 are projections 98 which extend through openings aligned therewith in the complementary halves 82 and 84 of arm 26 and which enable clinching of the complementary halves 82 and 84 to the opposite sides of the insert 86.

As best seen in FIG. 3, arm 26 is pivotably secured to to the hollow portion 54 of slidable member 24 about a pin 100 which extends through the uppermost and lowermost walls of the hollow portion 54 and the complementary halves 82 and 84 of the arm 26 and is maintained in place by a pair of enlarged integral heads 102 which are provided at opposite ends thereof.

As best seen in FIG. 2, a spring 104 is also mounted about a pin 100 which includes a pair of legs 106 and 108 which are normally urged away from each other. Leg 106 bears against the inner surface of hollow portion 54 and leg 108 is engaged in opening 96 of insert 86 and thereby normally urges the arm 26 towards the arcuate portion 30 of the bar 22. The movement of the arm 26 towards the arcuate portion 30 is limited by the endmost surfaces 110 of the complementary halves 82 and 84. As best seen in FIG. 2, the endmost surface 110 bears against the inner surface of portion 54 when the holder arm 26 is in its forwardmost position. When the holder arm 26 is rotated in the direction of arrow 112 in FIG. 2, surfaces 110 are drawn away from the inner surface of hollow portion 54. By manually rotating holder arm 26 far enough in the direction of arrow 112, the inner surface 114 of the arm 26 engages lever arm 64 of locking finger 56 thereby unlocking slidable member 24 which enables the slidable member 24 to he slid away from the arcuate portion 30.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, a cutting wheel 116 is rotatably mounted in holder arm 26. The wheel 116 is best seen in FIG. 4 and includes four cutting elements 118, 120, 122 and 124 which are of varying thicknesses to enable cleaning of four different sized widths of piston ring grooves. The wheel 116 is pivotably mounted about a threaded shaft 126 which extends through an opening in half 82 and the central opening in wheel 116 and is threadedly secured in half 84 of the arm 26. The threaded shaft is integral with a cylindrical knob 128 having a knurled surface 130 which facilitates rotation of the knob. The knob 128 also includes a cylindrical boss 132 which urges the halves 82 and 84 of the holder arm together to tighten the wheel 116 in place.

As best seen in FIG. 2, to change cutting elements, the knob 128 is loosened by manual rotation and the cutting wheel 116 is rotated in the direction of arrow 134 until the appropriate cutting element extends towards the arcuate portion 30 of the bar 22. The spring 92 enables the cutting wheel 116 to be rotated in the direction of arrow 134 but prevents the rotation in the opposite direction by abutting the rear of the cutting elements. The cutting elements are properly placed for cutting when the rear of one of the cutting elements is placed in abutment with the spring 92. The knob 128 may be tightened to secure the cutting wheel in place.

The cutting wheel 116 may also be replaced by removing the threaded shaft 126 from the holder arm. Another cutting wheel having the same or different sized cutting elements may then be inserted so that the opening therein is aligned with the opening in halves 82 and 84 and the threaded shaft may then be replaced and the knob 128 tightened.

In operation, the piston ring groove cleaner 20, is used as follows:

The cutting wheel 116 is rotated until the appropriate cutting element thereof is facing towards the arcuate portion 30 of the bar. The ledges 36 and 38 of the straight portions 28 and 32, respectively, are inserted into the groove of a piston 120 which is shown in phantom in FIG. 1. The slidable member 24 is then slid along straight portion 28 of the bar towards the piston 120 which is embraced by guides 40 and 42. The slidable member 24 is urged in the direction ofthe arcuate portion 30 of the bar until the cutting element of cutting wheel 116 is in the groove to be cleaned and urged at a suitable pressure therein. The straight portion 28 of the piston groove cleaner is then rotated in the direction of arrow 122 in FIG. 1 about the piston 120 which thereby causes the cutting element engaged in the groove to clean out the foreign substances therein.

After the rotation has been completed and the foreign material completely scraped out of the groove, the operator places his thumb on the surface 124 of arm 26 which is provided therefor and draws the arm in the direction of arrow 112 (FIG. 2) thereby disengaging the cutting element from the groove of the piston. The movement of the arm is preferably intermediate of the lever arm 64 so that the slidable member remains locked in position.

The piston ring groove cleaner is then removed from the groove and the ledges 36 and 38 placed in the next groove of the piston to be cleaned. The pressure of the operator is released from arm 26 so that the cutting element engages the inner surface of the second groove to be cleaned. It should be noted again that the slidable member 24 does not move with respect to straight portion 22 of the bar in that it is locked in place. Movement of the slidable member along the bar is unnecessary after the adjustment of the location thereof has been made to clean the first groove of the piston since the diameter of the grooves in the same piston are similar. Thus, further adjustments are unnecessary until after each of the grooves of the piston have been cleaned. It is necessary only to draw the arm 26 back intermediate of the lever arm 64 of the locking finger 56 after each groove has been cleaned to withdraw the piston ring groove cleaner. The lever arm is then released manually and the cutting element urged into each succeeding groove thereby enabling the engagement of the cutting element in the groove. Rotation of the piston ring groove cleaner about the piston thereby cleans out the foreign matter within the grooves until each of the grooves in the piston is cleaned.

If a plurality of pistons from the same engine are cleaned, only one adjustment need be made for the entire set of pistons provided that the grooves therein are all of the same size. If, however, the grooves of the next piston are of a different size, it is necessary only to draw the lever arm 26 back in the direction of arrow 112 so that the surface 114 of the lever arm engages the lever arm 64 of the locking finger 56 thereby unlocking the slidable member 24 and enabling the slidable member to be drawn away from arcuate portion 30 of the bar. It should be understood that the lever arm 64 is so exposed that the operator can engage and press the lever arm directly for releasing the locking finger 56.

After the slidable member has been drawn back, the ledges 36 and 38 are aligned in the first groove of the next piston which is to be cleaned and an adjustment is made for the new groove by urging the slidable member 24 towards the arcuate portion 30 of the bar until the cutting element is urged into the groove to be cleaned.

It can therefore be seen that the piston ring groove cleaner embodying the invention is both inexpensive to manufacture, yet simple to place on and remove from the piston for the purposes of cleaning the grooves thereof. The piston ring groove cleaner is easy to adjust and use and repeated readjustments are obviated by the rotatable arm 26. The guide 40 which includes an offset portion enables a large range of piston sizes to be used in the device in that the offset portion enables the slidable member 24 to be inserted underneath the offset portion for small sizes of pistons, yet the guide member extends substantially along the length of straight portion 28 so that it may be used to engage the surface of a large piston.

An alternate embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 10 through 13. The alternate piston ring groove cleaner utilizes a holder for individual cutting elements rather than the cutting wheel used in the first embodiment. The arm 22 and the slidable member 24 are similar to their counterparts in the first embodiment. Similarly, the locking finger 56 coacts with the teeth 34 in the same manner. The cutting element holder arm 200 is somewhat similar to arm 26. However, it has been modified to house individual cutting elements as opposed to the cutting wheel used in the first embodiment.

The holder arm 200 basically comprises a pair of complementary halves 202 which are generally planar and include a peripheral skirt 2.04 which extends about the gripping portion of the arm. The halves 202 of the arm 200 are secured together by an insert 206 which is similar to insert 86 shown in FIG. 8. Adjacent insert 206 a U-shaped insert 208 is provided which comprises a pair of vertically disposed legs 210 and 212 which are parallel to each other, extend toward the arcuate portion of the bar 22, and are bridged by a vertically disposed web 214 which extends transversely to said legs.

The insert 208 includes three pairs of projections 216 which are shown in phantom and which are preferably secured to and between the halves 2.02 of the arm 200 by clinching. The -U-shaped insert 208 acts as a housing for a cutting element 220.

As best seen in FIG. 11, an elongated rectangular slot 222 and a narrow rectangular slot 224 which is longitudinally aligned with the former slot act as a keeper for a spring clip 226. Spring clip 226 is best shown in FIG. 13 and basically comprises a vertically extending L-shaped portion 228 and a horizontally extending base portion 230. The base portion 230 includes an upstruck portion 232 and a shallow upwardly extending U-shaped portion 234. The U-shaped portion is provided adjacent an end portion 236 which is horizontally aligned with the major portion of base 230.

The U-shaped portion 234 overlays a bridging section 238 of lower half 202 between openings 222 and 224 in the bottom half 202 of arm 200. The straight end portion 236 extends beyond openings 224 and is prevented from sliding out of the opening by abutting the outer surface of wall 202. The base 230 of spring clip 226 extends transversely to legs 210 and 212 of the U-shaped insert 208 and is disposed so that the upstruck portion 232 extends between the legs 210 and 212 of the U-shaped insert. The L-shaped portion of the spring extends adjacent to and parallel to the outer surface of leg 212 of the U-shaped insert and through an opening 240 which is provided in the top half 202 of the arm 200*.

As best seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, the cutting element 220 is comprised of a rectangular rod and includes a cutting portion 242 which projects out of the U-shaped insert and a pair of channels 244 and 246 which are formed in the lateral surfaces of the cutting element and extend transversely of the cutting element. As best seen in FIG. 12, whenthe cutting element has been disposed within the U-shaped insert, with the rear end thereof abutting the web 214, the upstruck portion 232 of clip 22 6 lodges in the lower channel 246 of the cutting element 220 and abuts the rear surface of the channel to prevent the cutting element 220 from being drawn out of the housing therefor.

The width of the cutting portion of the cutting element 220 is dependent only on the width of the grooves to be cleaned thereby. The cutting elements are thus preferably part of a set of cutting elements having cutting portions of varying thickness.

To remove a cutting element 220 from the U-shaped insert, it is necessary only to press the L-shaped portion 228 of the spring 226 downwardly whereby the upstruck portion 232 is urged out of the channel 246 thereby freeing the cutting element from any impediments so that it may be pulled out of the U-shaped housing.

When placing a cutting element into the U-shaped insert, it can be seen that the upstruck portion 232 is urged downwardly as a result of the uppermost surface 250 which acts as a cam surface when engaged by the rear end of the cutting element. The spirng clip base is thereby moved downwardly and out of the path of the cutting element until the upstruck portion is aligned with the lower channel 246 of the cutting element. The upstruck portion is then spring urged into the channel, thereby locking the cutting element in place.

It can therefore be seen that the cutting element holder arm 200 enables a quick replacement of cutting elements. Moreover, these elements are inexpensive to produce and a large range of cutting element sizes may be used. The manufacture of the same is relatively inexpensive in that the cutting elements are preferably produced directly from a rectangular metal bar.

This piston ring groove cleaner shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 is otherwise similar to the piston ring groove cleaner 20 shown in FIGS. 1 through 9, and is operated in the same manner.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate my invention that others may, by applying cur rent or future knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A piston ring groove cleaner comprising an elongated bar having a first straight portion and a second straight portion bent back upon itself at one end to provide means for engaging a piston, a slidable member adapted to slide along said first straight portion of said bar, said first straight portion including a plurality of teeth, said slidable member having a spring urged locking member, said teeth on said first straight portion being so disposed that said locking member slides over said teeth when moved in a first direction towards said one end but abuts said locking member to prevent movement in the opposite direction, a cutting element holder arm, said arm being pivotably mounted to said slidable member and spring urged towards said first end of said bar, said first and second straight portions including projecting ledges which project into the grooves of a piston aligning said cutting element with the groove to be cleaned, said straight portions each including a guide member which extends perpendicularly from said ledge for preventing the ledges from being inserted too deeply into the groove of said piston, said guide member of said first straight portion including an oflset portion, said offset portion being spaced from the outer surface of said first straight portion to enable said slidable member to be slid underneath the offset portion of said guide member.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said cutting element holder arm is basically hollow and includes therein a cutting wheel having a plurality of cutting elements whereby the piston ring groove cleaner may be used for a plurality of sizes of grooves by rotation of the appropriate elements into operative positions.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said holder arm further includes a spring mounted adjacent said wheel which enables said wheel to be rotated only in a first direction and acts to position a cutting element to be used quickly by abutting the rear of an adjacent one of said cutting elements.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said cutting element holder arm includes a housing for individual cutting elements, said housing comprising a U-shaped insert which is generally rectangular and said cutting elements are comprised of rectangularly shaped stock.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said arm further includes a'spring clip which extends transversely to said insert, said spring member acting to engage said cutting element to prevent removal of said cutting element from said housing.

6. A piston ring groove cleaner comprising an elongated bar having a first straight portion and a second straight portion bent back upon itself at one end to provide means for engaging a piston, a slidable member adapted to slide along said first straight portion of said bar, said slidable member including a spring urged looking member for engaging said first straight portion so that said slidable member may he slid towards said one end of said bar but is normally locked against being slid towards said other end of said bar, said locking member extending inwardly of said first and second straight portions, a cutting element holder arm, said arm being pivotably mounted to said slidable member and spring urged towards said first end of said bar, said arm including a manually grippable portion, said manually grippable portion being aligned with said spring urged locking member so that urging said manually grippable portion to a first position intermediate of said locking member enables the cutting element to be drawn away from said one end of said bar so that the piston ring groove cleaner may be rapidly removed from a piston groove without adjusting the piston of said slidable member on said first straight portion of said bar and urging said manually grippable portion to a second position causes the manually grippable portion to engage said locking member for enabling the slidable member to be slid towards the other end of said bar for changing the adjustment thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,603,361 10/1926 Slack 824.46 X 1,650,160 11/1927 Slack 15104.01 X 2,124,757 7/1938 Vaughan. 2,412,748 12/ 1946 Phillips. 2,695,542 11/1954 Ward.

EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner 11.5. C1. X.R. 824 

